Independent and Combined Effects of Short-term Sulforaphane Supplementation and Exercise on Immunometabolism in Healthy Adults

Independent and Combined Effects of Short-term Sulforaphane Supplementation and Exercise on Immunometabolism in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Crossover Study

The study consist of 3 interventional periods which will be completed by each consenting participant in a randomized, crossover fashion. The interventional periods will be separated by a minimum 1 week washout period. One of the interventions consists of 4 days of daily supplementation with the commercially available broccoli sprout extract capsules (BrocElite). Another intervention will consist of 4 days of daily supervised treadmill running. The exercise protocol consists of 4 minutes of high-intensity running running followed by a 3 minute recovery period, repeated for a total of 4 repetitions. The last intervention combines the above two and consists of 4 days of daily supplementation and daily supervised exercise training. Before and after each intervention, basic anthropometrics (weight, heart rate, and blood pressure) will be recorded, and a venous blood sample will be collected. Blood samples will be analyzed for metabolic and inflammatory markers. Participants will be asked to refrain from structured exercise, alcohol consumption, and broccoli consumption during each of the experimental periods. Before any testing, willing participants will provide informed consent, and fill out a few demographic, and lifestyle questionnaires. The study will be conducted at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, BC, Canada.

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged between 19 and 35 years
• not a current smoker
• physically active based on the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines (150 minutes of weekly physical activity)

Exclusion Criteria:

• a history of cardiometabolic diseases or respiratory diseases (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, diabetes, coronary artery disease)
• currently following a ketogenic diet
• body mass index (BMI) over 30 kg/m2
• unable to read or communicate in English
• having received a vaccination or experienced an upper respiratory tract infection in the last 4 weeks
• having donated more than 0.5 L of blood within the last 4 weeks
• currently pregnant
• have contraindications to high intensity exercise (assessed using the CSEP Get Active Questionnaire)